The importance of discussing teams governance: But are we addressing the right issues?

It is fair to say that the topic of Teams Governance often elicits a strong response. Frequently, individuals associate it with restrictions and control imposed by various parts of the organization. Common concerns include the need for complete oversight of team creation, fears of an overwhelming number of teams if unrestricted, and challenges in locating information.

The conventional solution proposed is typically to restrict the ability of individuals to create teams. Under this approach, employees would submit a Help Desk ticket to request team creation, which would then be managed centrally. While these concerns may have merit, it is essential to consider their relevance to our specific company and the potential impact on the platform’s primary objective – fostering creative collaboration. Are there tools within the platform that can facilitate collaboration while ensuring necessary controls? We assert that such tools do exist.

Any transformation process should begin with a clear understanding of the organization’s identity, needs, and objectives. Some organizations operate within heavily regulated industries where strict compliance is mandatory, whereas others may function in less regulated environments where collaboration can take precedence over stringent rules. It is crucial to reflect on the regulatory framework governing your business and the expectations of your employees and customers. Different scenarios may include:

• Our organization demands strict control and traceability for team collaboration.
• Our organization values balancing freedom for end users with IT and compliance control.
• Our organization prioritizes open, unrestricted collaboration to enhance productivity and flexibility.

Regardless of the outcome, it is important to weigh the risks associated with employees finding the new platform challenging due to long lead times and high restrictions against the problems that may arise from improper handling of information on your digital platform.

After identifying our needs, how can we create the control that best meets them? Some frequent statements that are often heard include:

“We need to have full control of the teams we have.” and “If anyone can create a team, the number of teams will increase significantly.”
If you choose to allow employees to create their own teams, there are functions to validate automatically whether these teams are being used. For instance, you could automatically delete teams that have not been accessed in the past 90 days. Also, keep in mind that the initial enthusiasm for creating teams tends to stabilize over time.

“It will be challenging to manage access to information if everyone can invite anyone to a team.” Controlling access to information is crucial for any business. Questions such as whether information is for internal use only, if external people should be allowed in all teams, who can share information from any team, and how to maintain correct access over time are essential. Tools like team classification, sensitivity labels, and access reviews can greatly assist in this regard. When properly implemented, they support the end user rather than restrict them.

“We won’t know where our information is stored, and users won’t be able to find anything.” Finding the right information at the right time is critical for most companies, and inefficiency occurs when this doesn’t happen. Additionally, there is a significant issue if incorrect or outdated information is found. From a company perspective, this might be one of the biggest challenges, and it’s not something that can rely entirely on technology.

Technology can support us with policies and reminders for updating or deleting information, and access control is a well-established practice. However, if it is unclear to the end user how to navigate the digital landscape and where to find certain information, frustration and inefficiency are likely to occur. While technology can take you far, investing time in creating a clear and structured information architecture is still valuable.

What do we really want?
Our objective is to establish optimal conditions for our business to utilize the platform precisely as intended – to facilitate and enhance excellent collaboration both within and outside our organization, thereby maximizing our investment while minimizing risk.

To achieve this, it is necessary to balance control and creativity and ensure that business requirements are fully understood before deciding how technology can best support those needs, while also considering the importance of people in the process. The success of a business depends on its people.